Women’s Basketball
A solid week of action for the UKC women, who dropped their first game on the road at Mount Allison before securing a win in Moncton. It gave them the go-ahead win in the series with the now 6th ranked Crandall Chargers. Theoretically, that seals the 5th seed for King’s ahead of the ACAA postseason. The UKC women have gone 3-2 in league play since returning from the holiday break, losing only at home to league leaders MSVU and on the road at Mount Allison, who have leapt into second place following a strong start in the second term. Norah Quinlan’s return to action was a welcome sight for King’s fans. The junior guard posted 16 points across the two games and led the scoresheet with 11 at Crandall. Elsewhere, senior forward Nalini Maharaj made hay at the home of the Mounties, scoring eight points and collecting five boards in only 11 minutes of play.
Inclement weather gave the UKC women a week off. High winds forced the closure of Confederation Bridge on Saturday, preventing the Holland College Hurricanes from making the trip to Halifax; the only game the Blue Devils had on the schedule. That game will be rescheduled for mid-week in an upcoming game week. In the meantime, the UKC women have their final double-header road weekend ahead of them, with games at UNBSJ and St. Thomas on the docket in New Brunswick.
Results:
@MTA 42-67 Loss
@Crandall 64-54 Win
Next Game:
@UNSBJ, February 11th 2pm
@STU, February 12th 12pm
Men’s Basketball
A pair of close losses for the UKC Men during their trip to New Brunswick, dropping games to the Mounties of Mount Allison and the Chargers of Crandall. The Blue Devils, who led at halftime against Mount Allison, struggled in the closing stages to contain the home Mounties, who strung together a 26 point fourth quarter, to win the game 82-67. A similar visit to Crandall, where the Kingsmen managed to repeatedly cut the Charger lead down to single digits but could never quite overcome their hosts, left the Halifax side on the short end of a 55-61 scoreline.
Despite the losses, the road series was not without positives. Both Alp Ozgoren and Andrew Dogurga came off the bench to tally double-figure scoring, and appear to be playing their best ball of the season. Sandrais Clayton, Geevon Janday, Brendan Morris, and Caleb Rennie all also reached double figures on the weekend. Luc Stevenson’s squad may still be in search of their season defining win, but the individual player development indicates that the watershed victory is imminent.
With the Holland College game from this past gameweek chalked off for weather and set to be rescheduled; the Kingsmen will shift their gaze to New Brunswick, and a pair of critical games on the road at UNBSJ and St. Thomas. St. Thomas have cut vulnerable figures in recent weeks; most recently in a narrow double-overtime win against the the winless UNBSJ on the weekend. Having enjoyed a full week of recovery, Luc Stevenson’s team will be primed to go undefeated on the weekend as they refine their form ahead of the playoff period.
Results:
@MTA 67-82 Loss
@Crandall 55-61 Loss
Next Game:
@UNSBJ, February 11th 4pm
@STU, February 12th 2pm
